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The Arctic War (2040)
The Arctic War is the name given to a brief conflict between the European Union and the Russian Federation fought between the 10th of June and the 17th of September 2040. This conflict was triggered when both sides began drilling for oil and natural gas in areas claimed by the other. The war resulted in the collapse of the European Union and the creation of three new alliances - the Eastern European Union, the Western European Union (later the UOE), and (eventually) the United Commonwealth. The conflict polarised the opinions of many across the globe, most notably within the Russian Federation. Protests both for and against the war eventually led to the creation of many new political parties including the Reformed Communists Workers Party which eventually rose to power leading to the creation of the R-USSR. The "War" The war "started" when the European Union was in a bit of a financial crisis and was running low on natural resources. With the melting of the Artic and the water rising, Europe saw the new frontier right in front of them and promptely sent workmen to excavate the resources under the continent. However, other interested parties were also setting their on the defrosted artic. Like the Russians, they to were in need of resources, because of the first cold war in the 20th century between the United States and the Former Soviet Union drained massive amounts of resources into cold war defense constructs and the spending on the massive amounts of war vehicles needed in case of war between the two superpowers. This was also happening during a time when the Second cold war was going on between them. But also happening a civil war with in the European Union itself. Russia was also suffering from internal problems. If something wasn't done soon, both would suffer terribly from their actions. Once both sides were on the artic, they complained about who should what portions of the place. Some wanted it to go to Russia, the other half to Europe. Both sides wanting it for the same reasons, but on two different sides. Eventually, it became so bad that soldiers were sent there to keep the peace, but did little to improve the situation on either side. Suddenly, both sides shot at each other and soon by the end of 2 weeks or so, 150 soldiers and civilians were dead. This was the finally straw for both sides. Repercussions - EU The War itself hardly deserves the name. Fewer than 150 people died in the conflict - far more political careers were destroyed than lives ended. The after effects however sent shock waves around the globe and triggered a serier of events which eventually (if indirectly) led to the Third World War. Firstly the European Union collapsed - half of its member states had opposed the war but felt they had been coerced into action by the stronger members (mainly France and Germany), the United Kingdom and the United States had tried to end the war via diplomacy in the United Nations but their attempts were vetoed by France. Many of the EU's members in Eastern Europe were socially and politically closer to Moscow than to Brussels and after the War most of these nations left the EU and formed their own alliance, the Eastern European Union. Britain (and Ireland) also left the main body of the EU although they remained linked via a number of projects including the CERN laboratory and the European Space Agency. The remaining member states of the EU reorganised themselves into the Western European Union and began to court China as a means of countering feared Russian expansion. The second political victim of the War was the NATO alliance. The EU had attempted to involve the United States in the conflict, both militarily and politically. The USA however was opposed to the war as it had already signed a series of treaties with both Canada and Russia regarding their claims on the Arctic region. The EU had hoped to use Article V of the NATO treaty to bring the US into the War but the US Congress decided that the EU had acted as the agressor in the fighting and that the EU could not invoke Article V. Six months after the War the United States formally left NATO and began its policy of military isolation. Repercussions - Russia In Russia the war was seen as a victory, the EU had been forced to concede most of its claims in the Arctic Ocean, the Russian Military (or at least it's Navy) had proven itself as good as, or even better, than it's European counterparts, and the collapse of NATO removed any future potential conflicts from the region. Post-war Moscow was able to concentrate its political (and economical) focus on the near-abroad, those countries which shared a border with Russia and which in many cases had been part of the former Soviet Union. Within a decade most of the Central Asian Republics and the southern Caucasus were once again firmly tied to Moscow. Background Notes (or tl:dr) Basically everything in the VIA-Verse is a result of the Arctic War, without NATO the WEU turns to China to counter Russia, this leads to the development of not only the CERN drive (leading to FTL flight) but also fusion power. With cheap energy electric vehicles become viable, the price of oil starts to drop and the wealth of the Gulf states starts to disappear. Within a few decades many middle east countries are starting to run out of money, agriculture becomes very important since they cannot afford to buy food from other countries. Water supplies become vital, and when several countries accuse Israel of "stealing their water" WW3 breaks out. At the same time Britain, unhappy with dealing with China, begins to form closer links with Australia and Canada (and later Ireland and New Zealand) leading to the United Commonwealth. Category:Wars and Conflicts Category:21st Century Events